Inner Fire
by Anni Mae15
Summary: Natsu gets jealous when he thinks that Lucy has feelings for Gray instead of him. Will he confess his feelings for her?
1. Pictures of you

Inner Fire

Chapter 1

Pictures of you

Lucy stared out the window of the carriage with a sour look on her face.

"Honestly, I don't think today could've gone any worse!" she huffed.

"Yeah.." said Natsu in agreement.

"It could've gone a lot better.." he said, trying to keep from vomiting out the window.

They'd gone out on a mission, trudging through heavily wooded areas and rough terrain for a whole day, only to find that in the time they were traveling, somebody else had already completed the task. Lucy was practically in a sour mood since then, and had been stepping in puddles, tripping on stones, and catching her hair on things.

The coach slowed to a stop.

Natsu looked up.

"We've stopped?" he asked, almost sounding relieved.

"I'll go check with the driver." said Lucy, standing up.

Natsu looked over at her seat just as the carriage door closed behind her.

She'd left a book behind.

He picked it up.

The cover was blank.

"Hey, Luce, I think you forgot this." he called, just as the book flipped open.

Despite wanting not to look, his eyes betrayed him, and scanned the pages.

The book was filled with hand-drawn pictures by Lucy.

'_I didn't know you were into drawing as well, Luce_.' he thought.

The first pictures were of the Fairy Tail mark. Next there were some pictures of all of her celestial spirits.

Cancer, Aquarius, Holorgium, Lyra, Taurus..

Natsu snickered at the picture of the ferocious-looking, thong-wearing, axe-wielding bull.

Next there were realistic pictures of Mirajane, Erza, Macau, Happy, even Gray.

He glared at the picture of Gray for a second and then flipped the page again to find..

More pictures of Gray..

'_Why Gray?_' he wondered to himself. He frowned.

'_Could she have feelings for h-_' he started to think, but was interrupted by Lucy's face peering through the window.

"Hey Natsu, the driver says he's not going to take us any further, so we may as well gather up our stuff and-" but she stopped mid sentence as her eyes fell on the book in Natsu's hands.

She gasped as she rushed through the carriage door.

"What are you doing with my book?!" she said, snatching it away.

"Nothing." he said plainly.

"How much did you see?" she asked, quickly snapping it shut.

"Not much." he said, standing up.

'_But I've seen enough_,' he thought bitterly.

"You better not have," muttered Lucy, turning away so that he didn't see the red streak across her face.

* . *

. * .

"'I wish we were still in that carriage' she says." repeated Holorgium, who marched just behind Natsu.

"Really? I think it's great to get out of that thing. Just GREAT." he said, his irritability coming through.

Lucy gave him a funny look from inside the clock.

"'When will we be back at Fairy Tail?' she says." said Holorgium.

"Probably two days." he said stiffly, dragging his feet petulantly through the dirt.

"'Are you okay?' she says."

"I'm just FINE." he lied, kicking a stone.

She left it at that, although she was absolutely baffled about his behavior.

'_Why in the hell would she like Gray?!?!_' he thought.

'_What's he got that I don't???_'

Then suddenly another voice popped into his head.

'_Sounds like you're jealous, Natsu.._**'** it teased.

'_Am not! I'm way better than he is!_' he retorted in his head.

'_No, I mean your jealous that Lucy likes him and not you._' it said.

Natsu stopped in his tracks.

'_What? That's ridiculous! I mean Lucy and I are just friends.._'

'_Right.. And that would explain why you're blushing.._'

Natsu's eyes widened as he realized that he _was_ blushing.

'_You can't prove anything.._' he thought.

'_Gray and Lucy sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G.._'

Natsu's hands balled into fists, his eyes narrowing.

'_Shut up.._'

'_First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes-_'

"I SAID SHUT UP!!" he yelled.

"Why are you yelling?" came Lucy's voice from behind him.

He peeked over his shoulder, careful not to show the fact that he was blushing.

Lucy was no longer inside of Holorgium, and was staring at him oddly.

"Natsu?" she asked again.

"Um.. No reason." he said, turning away.

No matter how much he fought it, the redness on his face simply would not fade.

"Are- are you blushing?" asked Lucy, peering at him.

"What? N-no, of course not," he stuttered, reddening further.

He looked off to the side, into the trees, off somewhere in the bushes. Anywhere except for Lucy's face.

"Nice weather today." he said, trying to change the subject.

Lucy glanced up at the cloudy sky with an arched eyebrow.

"I guess.." she said.

Natsu looked down at his feet, wondering when it would be over.

. * .

* . *

They'd set up camp in a small opening in the trees, and made a small tent in front of the fire.

Natsu and Lucy were sprawled out in the tent, their faces alight in the flickering flames of the fire.

Lucy was busy sketching something in her little book as Natsu stared into the flames, lost in thought.

"You know when I woke up this morning, I didn't think I'd be all the way out here." she said, her pencil etching fine lines across the page.

"It's nice though." she said, smiling.

Natsu peered at her.

Her brown eyes sparkled beautifully in the fire light.

"Drawing the fire?" he asked.

Lucy looked up from her drawing, blushing faintly.

"No.." she said.

"Ah.." he said, staring at the fire.

'_She must be drawing Gray or something.._'

"So. You like drawing?" he asked.

Lucy nodded, remaining silent.

"Sorry." he said.

Lucy looked up.

"For what?" she asked.

"For looking in your book without permission."

"It's fine. I'm just glad you didn't get too far.." she said, blushing at the thought.

Natsu glanced at her funny.

"What, were you drawing people naked?" he teased lightly.

Lucy smacked the book on top of his head.

"No!... It's just... someone.. I like.." she said slowly, averting her gaze.

Natsu looked down, trying to hide his pain.

"Oh." he said.

'_So she does like Gray.._'

"Well, I think I'm gonna hit the sack. 'Night, Lucy." he said laying his head down to get some rest.

"Goodnight Natsu." she said, gazing at him for a moment before returning her gaze to the picture.

He was there, gazing up at her from the paper, grinning.

Completely the opposite from how he was acting now.

She closed the book quietly, laying down next to Natsu, who seemed to already be asleep.

"Eventually I'll find the courage to tell you the truth." she said, as she closed her eyes.

Lucy fell asleep.

Natsu gazed at her quietly, wondering what on earth she had meant.

"Whatever it is, I wish you would just tell me already." he mumbled softly into her ear.

He pulled back to stare at her face.

She was so pretty.

He smiled, twirling a small section of her hair with his fingers.

'_I think I love you, Lucy.._' he thought.

'_Please don't leave me._'

**Chapter 1 is done! :3**

**Yes. I couldn't get enough of writing about NaLu, so I started writing another one!**

**Hope you enjoy.**

**Let me know how you like it.**

**I'll update soon. :)**

**- Anni Mae15**


	2. Damaged Goods

Chapter 2

Damaged Goods

Lucy stretched her arms out, yawning.

"Ow," grumbled Natsu, who was next to her.

She looked over and saw that she'd accidentally elbowed him in the face.

Quickly she took her arm away, embarrassed.

"Sorry.." she said.

He looked over to her, his head propped up on his elbow.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Actually yeah, I did. It was a lot warmer than I would've expected." she said, unzipping the tent.

Natsu grinned to himself like he knew something.

"That's good to hear.." he said.

"Oh hey, Natsu? Where's Happy? I thought he was going to come with us."

Natsu shrugged.

"He said he wanted to stay at the guild with that new cat Charle." he said.

Lucy leaned in to him, and his eyes widened.

"You're jealous," she teased, poking him.

"What?" he said, eyes still wide.

"You were acting out yesterday, and I was wondering why. I think you're jealous because Happy is paying more attention to Charle than you right now." she said.

"Oh, um.. Yeah, I guess.." he said, grateful that she hadn't _totally_ figured him out.

. * .

* . *

The forest was thick with Trees and fog as they marched on. Natsu was a bit on the adventurous side, practically leaping from tree to tree.

"Hey Lucy, check this out." he said grinning, as he flipped over to the next tree.

He kicked off of it's trunk doing a back flip, landing neatly on his feet.

"Okay Mr. Dragon-slayer, I get it, you're awesome and I'm not." Lucy huffed, clinging onto her book.

Natsu blinked.

"Are you kidding?" he said doubtfully.

"To me you're the most awesome girl in Fairy Tail.

I mean, you can summon _Celestial Spirits_! And you may not be as strong as Erza,

but you're certainly more lovable than _she is_." he said, making a goofy face.

Lucy laughed, blushing to herself.

'_He thinks I'm lovable?_' she thought, biting her lip.

"Yeah, and you might not be as laid-back as Gray is, but you're certainly more fun to be around." she said.

Natsu smiled, even though the fact that she brought up Gray irked him a bit.

Lucy shivered slightly.

"Geez, it was so warm last night, I don't know what happened. I'm so cold now," she said.

Natsu smirked a bit.

"I could fix that." he said, shuffling closer to her.

Lucy gawked at him.

"Are you always this warm?" she asked.

Natsu nodded.

"Are you always this _cold_?" he asked, feeling her forehead.

"Only now." she said.

"Here." said Natsu.

Suddenly something white, and soft draped around her neck.

She looked down.

It was Natsu's dragon scale scarf.

She blushed as he wrapped it around her carefully.

"Th-thanks." she stuttered.

"Sure." said Natsu, smiling down at her.

Lucy gazed up at him, feeling lost within his gold-flecked eyes.

SMACK.

Suddenly, she was on the ground, face down.

"Lucy, are you okay?" asked Natsu, staring at her.

"Yeah I think so. I must've tripped." she said trying to get up.

Natsu helped her to fer feet carefully.

She cried out in pain, as she collapsed into Natsu's arms.

"My ankle.. I think I sprained it.." she said.

"Maybe we should stop for a while.." Natsu offered.

"No, then it'll take longer to get back. I don't want to be a hold up. I'll just have to.."

She tried to stand up again, but Natsu held her there firmly.

"You think I'm going to let you walk when your leg is hurt?" he said.

"Maybe I could hop.." she wondered out loud, although the idea itself sounded ridiculous.

Natsu rolled his eyes and picked her up.

"Hey, what're you-"

"If you want to keep going, then I'm going to have to carry you," he said, slinging her across his back.

"Are you sure?" she asked, reddening as his strong arms hooked under her knees.

"Of course I'm sure Lucy, you're hurt. I'm not going to make you walk.."

Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him.

"Thanks Natsu, you're the best!" she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

A corner of Lucy's book dug into his shoulder blade.

The book with the ever-so-carefully drawn pictures of Gray..

It was as if the book were taunting him.

Like it was laughing hysterically at him.

'_Poor Natsu.. So sweet to the girl who has feelings for someone else.._' it cooed.

'_Stupid book.._' thought Natsu.

'_Too bad you didn't see more of her drawings, you really would've enjoyed her latest one's_' it teased.

'_What, was she drawing Gray in his underwear?_' he ground his teeth at the thought.

'_No, she likes to draw things a little more.. fiery..' _it said_._

'_Fiery-?_'

He glanced back at Lucy, who had fallen asleep on him.

KLUNK.

"Eh?" said Natsu, looking down.

Lucy's book had fallen to the ground.

'_Man this book must be possessed or something_,' he thought as he carefully bent down to grab it.

He stopped short five inches from the book, staring wide eyed at what he saw..

Pink hair.. Gold flecked eyes.. White dragon scale scarf..

But before Natsu could piece it all together, the fog caved in around them, and suddenly his eyes shut.

The last thing he saw as he collapsed slowly to the ground, were several dark figures emerging from behind the trees.

"We've got them now." one of them muttered.

'_I've got to get Lucy... have to.. run.._' he thought as he began to fall unconcious.

'_..Lucy.._'

**(A.N.) Come on Natsu! _Wake up_! **

**You were _this_ close! **

**And then you just... You just.. Agghhh! **

**This is torture! Pure torture I tell you! XD**

**Well I hope you guys like this one. **

**Can't wait to start working on the next Chapter!**

**P.S. I'm going to be changing my user name to Phoenix soon :3. (Or something close to Phoenix)**

**- Anni Mae15**


	3. Burning up

Chapter Three

Burning up

Lucy scowled at the men surrounding them.

"You won't get away with this!" she yelled.

Despite being tied up, she tried to reach for her keys.

"Gate of the B-"

"I'll take that, sweetheart." said one of the men, snatching her keys away.

"So, you're a Celestial Spirit Mage, eh?" said the leader in a wispy voice, stepping forward.

He was adorned as though he thought he were king, his red hair practically glued the top of his head.

"What would your name be then?" he asked, leaning in.

Lucy tried to kick him, but he caught hold of her leg.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you.." he said, twisting it.

Lucy screamed in pain as her leg became twisted once more.

"Let go of her." a voice said sternly.

Lucy gazed over at Natsu, who had finally regained consciousness.

"I said let go." he repeated.

He merely looked at Natsu and laughed, squeezing tighter.

Lucy winced.

"And why should I?" he said.

"Because.." said Natsu, a dark look in his eye.

"If you don't, I'll burn you to a crisp.."

"I'd like to see you try." the leader laughed.

"Gladly," said Natsu, flames building up in his hands.

But as soon as it touched the chains he was strapped in, it was extinguished.

"Shit."

The man laughed as Natsu glared at him.

"I see you've figured out my little trick. See, no magic you use can penetrate the binding spell cast on those chains. Not even fire."

He grinned down at him.

"I'm not so stupid as to just tie you in ropes."

"Oh yeah?" said Natsu. "Well do you know what I think?"

"Mmm? What-"

Natsu's foot smashed hard in his face, making his nose bleed.

He staggered backwards, glaring at Natsu.

"You _look_ pretty stupid to me."

"I'd be careful if I were you.. Another move like that and I might just hurt your little friend.." he said icily, letting Lucy's leg go.

"Over my dead body!" snarled Natsu, yanking against the chains.

"What do you want with us anyway?"

He laughed coldly, wiping the blood from his nose.

"We don't want you.. We just want _her_.."

Natsu glared at him.

"You lay even one finger on her, and I'll rip you apart." he said acidly.

Lucy stared at Natsu, tears in her eyes.

"Natsu.." she whispered.

"Don't worry Lucy, I won't let him hurt you."

"Ah, yes that reminds me..." said the man, pulling something square from under his cloak.

"My men found this on the ground." he said, tossing Lucy's book to the ground in front of them.

It flipped open to the pictures of Gray.

Lucy stared at it plainly as Natsu scowled.

"We thought you might want it back." he said.

With a smirk, he turned to leave.

Natsu practically burst with anger.

"GOD DAMN YOU! YOU WAIT TILL I GET OUT OF HERE! I'M GONNA BLOW THIS PLACE AWAY ALONG WITH ALL YOUR MEN!"

The man laughed half-heartedly as he entered one of the largest tents in the camp.

"Your friend has a bit of a fiery side." he said to Lucy just as he went in.

"YOU WAN'T FIERY?!?!?! I'LL SHOW YOU FIERY!!!!!!!!" yelled Natsu, trying to break free of the chains.

Lucy gawked at him.

"Natsu! Stop!"

She managed to bring her hands to his face, which startled him, but he calmed down.

The other men laughed as they all dissappeared in their tents.

Natsu glanced back down at the book and frowned.

Lucy followed his gaze and froze.

"Gray's pictures.." she muttered, letting her hands drop.

"I only drew three, but.." she gazed up at Natsu, who was still slightly fuming.

"You saw them.. didn't you?" she asked.

He stared at her, beginning to piece things together.

"Only three." he said.

'_So who were the other pictures of?_..' he wondered.

Immediately, she reddened.

"You didn't see anything else, did you?!?" she asked.

Natsu shook his head slowly, surprised at her reaction.

Lucy sighed in relief, leaning back against the pole they were chained to.

That was when Natsu saw something glitter in her hair.

A bobby pin.

He completely dropped his thought process about the book, now absorbed in this metallic thing.

"Hey Luce." he whispered.

"I think I know how were going to get out of here, but first I need something."

"What?" asked Lucy quietly, turning to him.

Suddenly his hands were right next to her face.

"W-what are you doing?!" she said, blushing.

Carefully, he plucked the bobby pin from her hair, and her bangs fell into her face.

"Sorry," he said with a small laugh.

He brushed her bangs back, behind her ear, and stopped, staring into her eyes.

"Lucy.." he started.

For some reason, he couldn't seem to bring himself to say anything else.

Just sat there, feeling lost inside her warm, brown eyes.

He pulled away, blushing.

"N-never mind.." he said, clutching the bobby pin.

Lucy stared at him as he shoved the bobby pin into the padlock.

Not even a second later it was unlocked, and they were free to move again.

Natsu turned to Lucy who rubbed around her wrists where the chains had been.

"When they're asleep, we'll get our stuff and get out of here."

He smiled at her.

"We're going home Lucy."

He closed his eyes, leaning back against the pole.

After a few moments silence, Lucy leaned over to him.

She kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Thank you, Natsu." she murmured softly.

She pulled away carefully, reaching for her book.

In doing so, she completely missed the huge smile plastered on Natsu's face.

* . *

. * .

At around midnight, when all of the men in the camp had finally gone to sleep, Natsu and Lucy quietly slipped out of the chains.

They gathered all of their belongings that had been hidden behind a nearby tree, and carefully snuck out.

Natsu had set the tents to flames, and was listening to the men as they scrambled to put out the fires.

"Serves them for trying to hurt you like that," he said, scowling back in their direction.

He glanced up ahead through the trees silently.

"They brought us even closer to the guild though. We should be back by early tomorrow." he said.

Lucy stumbled a bit, dreary from not having rested.

"Hey," he said softly, turning to her.

"You okay? You look tired."

"I am." she said without thinking.

"Maybe we should stop so you can rest."

"No, I'll keep going." she said, yawning.

Natsu sighed, shaking his head, and picked her up, carrying her in his arms.

She didn't object, and merely snuggled into him, letting her eyes slide shut.

"Goodnight Lucy." said Natsu, smiling down at her.

He watched her as she slept.

As he watched her that strange voice from earlier came back again.

'_I bet you wish you could kiss her.._'

Natsu almost stopped in his tracks at the thought.

'_Kiss Lucy?'_

_'Well, why not?'_

Natsu glanced down at Lucy.

'_But she's--_'

'--_Just a friend? Oh, yeah, haven't heard that one before_. _You're too chicken to kiss her._'

'_Am not._'

'_Prove it._'

Natsu hesitated, feeling his breath catch in his throat.

Slowly he leaned forward, his heart racing.

His face was about an inch from hers, when she turned into him, mumbling something.

"Nat-su.." she said.

Natsu blinked, staring at her.

She giggled quietly in her sleep.

Natsu's eyes widened.

It all made sense now...

*** Flashback ***

Lucy snatched the book from his hands.

"How much did you see??" she said, reddening.

. . .

"Drawing the fire?" he asked.

Lucy looked up from her drawing, blushing faintly.

"No.." she said.

"Ah.." he said, staring at the fire.

'_She must be drawing Gray or something.._'

"So. You like drawing?" he asked.

Lucy nodded, remaining silent.

"Sorry." he said.

Lucy looked up.

"For what?" she asked.

"For looking in your book without permission."

"It's fine. I'm just glad you didn't get too far.." she said, blushing at the thought.

Natsu glanced at her funny.

"What, were you drawing people naked?" he teased lightly.

Lucy smacked the book on top of his head.

"No!... It's just... someone.. I like.." she said slowly, averting her gaze.

. . .

"Here." said Natsu.

Suddenly something white, and soft draped around her neck.

She looked down.

It was Natsu's dragon scale scarf.

She blushed as he wrapped it around her carefully.

"Th-thanks." she stuttered.

"Sure." said Natsu, smiling down at her.

Lucy gazed up at him, feeling lost within his gold-flecked eyes.

SMACK.

Suddenly, she was on the ground, face down.

"Lucy, are you okay?" asked Natsu, staring at her.

"Yeah I think so. I must've tripped." she said trying to get up.

Natsu helped her to fer feet carefully.

She cried out in pain, as she collapsed into Natsu's arms.

"My ankle.. I think I sprained it.." she said.

"Maybe we should stop for a while.." Natsu offered.

"No, then it'll take longer to get back. I don't want to be a hold up. I'll just have to.."

She tried to stand up again, but Natsu held her there firmly.

"You think I'm going to let you walk when your leg is hurt?" he said.

"Maybe I could hop.." she wondered out loud, although the idea itself sounded ridiculous.

Natsu rolled his eyes and picked her up.

"Hey, what're you-"

"If you want to keep going, then I'm going to have to carry you," he said, slinging her across his back.

"Are you sure?" she asked, reddening as his strong arms hooked under her knees.

"Of course I'm sure Lucy, you're hurt. I'm not going to make you walk.."

Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him.

"Thanks Natsu, you're the best!" she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

. . .

'_Poor Natsu.. So sweet to the girl who has feelings for someone else.._' it cooed.

'_Stupid book.._' thought Natsu.

'_Too bad you didn't see more of her drawings, you really would've enjoyed her latest one's_' it teased.

'_What, was she drawing Gray in his underwear?_' he ground his teeth at the thought.

'_No, she likes to draw things a little more.. fiery..' _it said_._

'_Fiery-?_'

. . .

The man laughed half-heartedly as he entered one of the largest tents in the camp.

"Your friend has a bit of a fiery side." he said to Lucy just as he went in.

. . .

"I only drew three, but.." she gazed up at Natsu, who was still slightly fuming.

"You saw them.. didn't you?" she asked.

He stared at her, beginning to piece things together.

"Only three." he said.

'_So who were the other pictures of?_..' he wondered.

Immediately, she reddened.

"You didn't see anything else, did you?!?" she asked.

Natsu shook his head slowly, surprised at her reaction.

Lucy sighed in relief, leaning back against the pole they were chained to.

. . .

Lucy's book had fallen to the ground.

'_Man this book must be possessed or something_,' he thought as he carefully bent down to grab it.

He stopped short five inches from the book, staring wide eyed at what he saw..

Pink hair.. Gold flecked eyes.. White dragon scale scarf..

A picture of Natsu..

**(A/N): ACK! CLIFF HANGER! ACK! FILLERS! __**

**I hate it when they have those cliff hanger episodes on Fairy Tail.**

**Y'know, those one's that literally have you the edge of your seat, holding your breath until you turn several shades of purple..**

**I personally prefer ripping my hair up from it's roots, and screaming whilst simultaneously jumping up and down like a little four-year-old.**

**Yeah..**

**I don't like cliff hangers!**

**Sorry!**

**Next chappy! Coming soon!**

**Anni Mae15**

**P.S. I decided to keep the nick. :)**


	4. Say Goodnight and Go

Chapter Four

Say Goodnight and Go

Lucy opened her eyes to find Natsu staring at her warmly.

"Good morning princess."

Lucy blushed faintly.

"Good morning."

"Did you have good dreams?"

Lucy nodded, remembering how close they had been in her dream last night.

Then she noticed that he was still holding her.

"Were... Were you carrying me all night?"

She stared at him, and blushed when he nodded.

"It didn't bother you at all?" she asked.

"Nahh.." he said.

"Besides.." he looked down at her, smiling.

"You're really cute when you sleep."

Lucy buried her face into his shoulder, embarrassed.

"Natsu, you're going to make me blush!"

He laughed quietly.

"Should I put you down then?" he asked.

"Only if you want to.." Lucy mumbled, peeking up.

Natsu peered at her.

"Well your leg's better now, right?"

Lucy nodded.

"Maybe you _should_ put me down.." she started, grinning.

"You're probably too tired to carry me further anyway."

Natsu's eyes narrowed.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked, a small grin on his face.

"Depends.. How far are we from the guild?" she asked.

"We're here." he said.

"Huh?"

Lucy looked up, and sure enough, they were back at the guild.

"Now would you like me to carry you in, or do you think you can walk now?" he asked, grinning.

Lucy huffed.

"I can walk.." she grumbled.

'_So much for my plan.._' she thought.

Suddenly the doors opened, and several familiar faces peered at them.

"Natsu?? Lucy??"

Gray practically choked with laughter, while Erza and Mirajane merely stared.

The color drained from Lucy's face.

"Quick put me down, put me down!!!" she squealed, squirming quickly out of Natsu's arms.

"Aww, you're no fun.." complained Natsu, although he started laughing.

Lucy went red, becoming irritated with all of the people laughing at her.

She stormed away, towards her apartment.

* . *

. * .

Lucy's face was buried into her pillow in frustration.

It was just. so. embarrassing!!!!!!

She felt something soft around her neck, and reached up to find Natsu's scarf she'd borrowed.

'_Natsu.._'

Suddenly she heard a voice outside her door.

"Hey Lucy?" it was Natsu.

"I just wanted to check on you and make sure you were okay. I'm sorry about what happened at the guild."

There was a pause.

Outside the door, Natsu was feeling extremely apprehensive.

"Look, Lucy, I.."

He paused again.

Lucy slowly brought her face up, gazing towards her bedroom door.

"I wanted to tell you something.."

Natsu took a deep breath.

"Well anyway, you forgot your book. I thought I should bring it back... So I guess I'll see you later then.." he said, dropping her book gently to the floor in front of her bedroom door.

Lucy heard a gentle thud outside her bedroom door, and then Natsu was gone.

She threw open the door, and ran right past her book, down the stairs and out the door.

. . .

Natsu walked slowly down the street.

What if Lucy was mad at him for embarrassing her in front of the guild?

He'd been so close to telling her how he felt..

And he'd let it slip.

Had he been any angrier at himself he would have smashed holes in the ground where his feet landed.

Her voice was still haunting him.

He could hear it as clearly as if she were right behind him.

"Natsu!"

Natsu growled, irritated at his mind playing tricks on him.

"Natsu!"

'_Would you just cut that out already!?!?!?!?!?_' he screamed in his head.

'_I'm not doing anything._' the voice in his head replied.

"NATSU!"

Natsu whipped around.

Lucy was right behind him.

"Lucy?" he asked, shocked.

Lucy fell short of breath and practically collapsed once she reached him.

"Natsu. You. Are. Too. Fast.." she panted.

She gazed up at him.

"Natsu.." she started.

"What was it you were going to say back there?"

So she _had_ heard him.

"Oh, it- it was nothing just-"

"Natsu." she repeated.

Natsu swallowed hard and dug up what courage he had left inside of him.

"Lucy, do you like me?" he asked.

Lucy froze up.

"Well of course I do," she said, trying to act normal.

"I mean you're my friend!"

Natsu blinked, staring at her like he was waiting for her real answer.

Lucy reached out towards him.

"Natsu-"

She tripped on an uneven stone in the road, tumbling forward.

Her hands caught on Natsu's vest, yanking him towards her.

Their faces were an inch apart.

They stared at each other in silence for a brief moment.

Lucy brought her hands to his face, and eased in, closing her eyes.

Natsu went red, regardless of how he pulled her closer, returning her kiss.

That was when everything else seemed to fade.

The dozens of people staring at them bewilderedly.

The fact that they were in the middle of the street causing traffic to back up.

Even the fact that Gray had actually followed them, and was staring at them among the rest of the people in the streets.

All of it just seemed to fade away.

Like the key to a flame.

Lucy had unlocked his heart.

. . .

Gray snickered to himself as he pushed back through the crowd of people.

'_Wait until everyone at Fairy Tail hears this.._' he thought to himself.

**THE END..**

Sort of..

**(A.N.) Awwwwwww...**

**So cute. X3**

**But Gray's going to go and be a _Gossip Girl_ boy now. xDDDD**

**Now I have to think about the next fic I'm going to write bwahahahaha.**

**Maybe I'll go for extra drama.**

**Or no wait!**

**BIG EXPLOSIONS!**

**Yeah, yeah that's it..**

**Explosions..**

**..**

**I like explosions.. :3**

**WTF? Big letters. lol**

**Ha ha, randomness..**

**It's great, no?**

**- Anni Mae15**


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